Henry keen on Aquilani

16 July 2011 01:30

Liverpool owner John Henry has given misfits Alberto Aquilani and David Ngog hope of extending their Anfield careers.

Aquilani spent last season on loan at Juventus after being loaned out by then manager Roy Hodgson, even though the Italy international had looked like finding his form towards the end of the previous campaign after a long time out with injury.

His days at Anfield appeared numbered, despite manager Kenny Dalglish being a fan of his ability, with plenty of speculation linking him to a move back to his homeland. However, Juventus were not interested in signing the 27-year-old permanently and he returned to Merseyside for pre-season before flying out with the squad for their matches in China and Malaysia.

The Italian, whose Â£17million signing by Rafael Benitez was ridiculed in many quarters because of his poor injury record - he actually arrived at Anfield with an injury - impressed in Saturday's 6-3 win over a Malaysia XI.

Ngog has been nothing more than a back-up striker since arriving at the club from Paris St Germain for Â£1.5million in the summer of 2008.

He has been linked with a number of Barclays Premier League clubs but a goal against Guangdong last weekend and his two in Kuala Lumpur have caught the attention of Henry.

Liverpool's principal owner, who was also impressed by Aquilani against the Chinese side and joined the squad out in Malaysia, believes the midfielder is making a difference in pre-season.